Archive: Sports

Part of the fun of Youth Football League games is watching young cheerleaders go through their paces.  Last Sunday the cheerleaders got to showcase their routines when Lansing hosted the 5th Annual Cheerleading Showcase for the first time.  Squads from Lansing, Dryden, Groton, Moravia, Seneca Falls, and Trumansburg competed at The FIELD. 

""I eat, sleep, breath, and live cheerleading right now," laughs Theresa Armstrong, who directs the program for the Lansing Recreational Department.  "I don't want to stress competition.  I took the word out of the program this year because I don't want to take away the feeling of having to be number one.  I look at it more as a showcase so the girls get to show what they've learned throughout the season.  For some girls it's their first year and they're pretty proud of what they've learned."

Lansing finished number one in the Girls' Swimming & Diving Class C sectionals with 385 points last Saturday.  Four Lansing swimmers will go on to the State championship meet in Webster next Friday and Saturday.  Kali Dean will compete in the 50 free, 100 free & 200 free relay events.  Courtney Pollack, Alex Conte, Ashley McDonald will also compete in the 200 free relay.

"AWESOME team work at the Class C sectional meet," says coach Diane Hicks-Hughes.  "The 200 Medley Relay missed qualifying for the state meet by .20."

Lansing Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chairman Marty Christopher announced the 'Class of 2009' inductees Monday.  The Lansing Hall of Fame honors past Lansing High School athletes, teams, and coaches.  The actual Hall Of Fame is in the hallway behind the Lansing High School gymnasium.  Plaques for each member are displayed there with pictures and descriptions of their accomplishments in athletics while they were at Lansing.  Each January a new 'class' is inducted.  Former Lansing athletes come from all over the United States to be honored.

This year Dale Nichols (1959), Laura Herrick (1994) , and Eric Tee (1998) will be inducted, as well as the Lansing Baseball Team of 1989.  Athletes will be inducted during a special ceremony between varsity and junior varsity basketball games in the high school gym on Saturday, January 16th, 2010.

Lansing closed out its regular season with a perfect 14-0 record, won the first two sets of the 10/31 IAC championship match against Tioga 25-19, 25-22, and then faltered, losing the last three sets 17-25, 21-25, and 18-25.

In the first set, the advantage shifted from Lansing to Tioga and back to Lansing.  The set was tied at 15-15, after which Lansing racked up 10 points to Tioga’s four.  As usual, multiple players greased the team machine.  Blair Wigsten, Kari Fenner, Tory Cutting, and Amber Howser contributed kills, Kristen Beyea a block, and Fenner an ace.  Sophomore Wigsten’s momentum carried into the second set, when she added three more kills, as did Beyea.  Cutting threw up the first two of her seven blocks.  Lansing led throughout the set, despite allowing dropped balls by the net and the backcourt line – errors that would prove costly later in the match.

There were some unexpected turns of events at the IAC Championship meet this past Saturday at Marathon. Front runner Jon Cleveland was led off course by a runner from Chenango Valley, which cost him the IAC title, but allowed senior Josh Barber to capture 2nd place for the IAC with a time of 18:43.

Both Cleveland and Barber were named League All Stars.  Dan Comisi had a surprising 3rd place finish for the team (20:28) followed by teammate Luke Davis (20:36) and George Wigsten (21:18).  For the JV, freshman Michael Cree ran well to finish 3rd overall (21:50) along with freshman Yusong Liu (23:34) and Tom Alexander (25:20). Junior Alec Iacobucci finished with a time of 24:47.

Lansing was number 1 at the IAC Girls Swimming Championships last Saturday.  It was Lansing's 7th consecutive IAC win.  Four Lansing swimmers qualified for the State Championships as well.  Kali Dean qualified in three events: the 50 free, 100 free, and along with Courtney Pollack, Alex Conte, Ashley McDonald, Dean qualified for the 200 Free Relay.  Victoria Katz came in second in diving with 249.00, close behind Dryden winner Alex Seymour (249.15).

Lansing scored highest with 330, followed by Watkins Glen (177), Waverly (156), Odessa-Montour (149), Whitney Point (146), Dryden (140), and Southern Springs (114).

In what is shaping up to be the most difficult sectional title run in the last four years, our lady footballers have had to be at their psychological and physical best in victories over Dryden  and Owego last week.

The #1 team in Class B literally had to battle the elements, in this case the wind, and two physically imposing foes. For the first time in four years, the Lady Cats gave up goals in sectional games. Both games ended up 2-1 affairs that were in the balance until the final whistle. What is obvious to all that have watched these girls this season is that it is going to take more than a stiff wind or opponent to sidetrack these warriors. Timely goals, outstanding goalkeeping, tenacious defending and the occasional lucky bounce or break has kept the season alive as the quest for the championship continues.

The cross country team survived the torrential downpours on Saturday to emerge successful at the Marathon Invitational – a meet that hosted over 40 area schools. Josh Barber finished 2nd in the IAC (18th overall) in a field of 114 runners with a time of 18:35.  The mud trails and knee deep puddles made it difficult for many to compete, but it didn’t stop the Bobcats. George Wigsten (20:22), Luke Davis (21:05), Dan Comisi (21:33), Yusong Liu (24:22) and Tom Alexander (25:50) all ran well despite the conditions.

ROCHESTER, NY -- Bill Austin was named Empire 8 Coach of the Year on October 28.  He led the Ithaca College women's tennis team to victory with its fifth straight conference title and fourth straight bid to the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship.

The Lansing Girls Soccer team recently won the conference championship with a 2-0 win over Large School South Champ Elmira Notre Dame. It was the teams fourth title in a row and sets the stage for what hopes to be a memorable run in the postseason. The team from Elmira was a well organized unit and did an admirable job of limiting the usually potent Lansing offense. The Lady Cats found themselves often with eight or nine defenders waiting for them in the oppositions half. It would be a night in which the teams patience and persistence would have to come through.

The Lansing Girls Swimming and Diving team beat Whitney Point in an away meet on October 22.  Lansing swept the meet with 103 to Whitney Point's 61.

Kelsy Quigley started with a first place win in the 200 Yard Freestyle.  Alex Conte sped to first place in the 200 Yard IM Varsity.  Kali Dean finished first in the  50 Yard Freestyle in 24.93.  Victoria Katz was the only diver in the meet, scoring 121.95 for Lansing.

Lansing swept Trumansburg 25-20, 28-26, 25-19 Monday night 10/26.  The win was particularly sweet because the Bobcats had required five sets to overcome Tburg earlier this month.  The two teams are well matched, and all three sets on Monday were hotly contested. 

Lansing trailed through much of the first set, under the false impression that Lansing’s side of the court was smaller and Tburg’s larger than in the Bobcats’ home gym.  Momentum shifted when Nicolo Gentile made a diving save that was followed by blocks by Kristen Beyea and Tory Cutting, who came off the injured reserve with a vengeance.  Breanna Brann then centered a spike neatly into a mid-court gap, creating Lansing’s first two-point lead, 19-17.  Cutting caught Tburg by surprise by returning a free ball with a quick push to the vacant back line, Tara Miller managed a kill off a set from the back row, Gentile added an ace, and Tburg threw in a couple errors to finish the set.